Folding bracket for desk-telephones, &amp;c.



W. H. GERHARD. FOLDING BRACKET FOR DESK TELEPHONES, 6m.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1907.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

50., WASHINGTON. n. c.

WILLIAM H. GERHARD, OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.

FOLDING BRACIGET FOR DESK-TELEPHONES, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Application filed September 27, 1907. Serial No. 394,858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. GERHARD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county ofTravis and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful FoldingBracket for Desk-Telephones, &c., of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to improvements in brackets for telephones, etc.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction oftelephone brackets, and to provide a simple, strong, inexpensive,foldable telephone bracket adapted to be readily applied to a desk, andcapable of ready adjustment to bring it in position for use or toarrange it out of the way when not in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible foldablebracket adapted,when not in use, to be compactly arranged beneath thetelephone or other article supported by it.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a telephone supportadapted to be moved inwardly towards or outwardly from its foldedposition by exceedingly small adjustments, whereby a tele hone, book, orother object may be arrange in a greater variety of positions thanheretofore.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, sizes, and minor details of construction within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a foldable telephonesupport, constructed in accordance with this invention,

the telephone being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an enlarged planview of the outer portion of the telephone bracket or support. Fig. 3 isa sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isa detail,

perspective view of the rigid jaws of the clamp. Fig. 5 is a detail viewof the adjustable jaw of the clamp. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective viewof the attaching bracket.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawing.

1 designates a bracket, consisting of avertical plate, provided aboveand below its center with horizontally projecting lugs or ears 2, andhaving suitable perforations 3 for the reception of screws -or othersuitable fastening devices for securing the bracket to the desk or othersupport. The horizontal ears or lugs areprovided with perforations forthe reception of a vertical pivot 4, which hinges the inner end of ahorizontal, flexible, supporting member 5 to the bracket 1. Theattaching bracket 1 may consist of a casting, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, or it may be conveniently stamped or otherwiseformed from stout sheet metal or other suitable material.

The horizontal supporting member is in the form of a section of asprocket chain, and it consists of short upper and lower horizontallydisposed links 6 and 7, and vertical connecting pivots or pins 8, whichpierce the links and connect the same in the usual manner, similar tothe pins or pivots of an ordi nary sprocket chain. The links of thechains are arranged with their pivots vertically disposed so that eachlink can swing independently in a horizontal plane. The links 6 arearranged outside the inner links 7, which fit against the inner faces ofthe said links'6, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing. Thesprocket chain is adapted to swing bodily in a horizontal plane, and thelinks, which in practice will be about an inch long, more or less, arealso adapted to swing horizontally to lengthen or shorten the supportingmember, which, while being flexible and foldable horizontally, isadapted to withstand a vertical, torsional strain, and form a supportfor the telephone 9 or other object. The outer end of the sprocket chainreceives a vertical bolt 10, which pierces the outer ends of the outerlinks and serves to secure the telephone clamp 11 to the sprocket chain.

Although, in the accompanying drawing, a telephone clamp is illustrated,yet it will be apparent that the form of the clamp may be varied toadapt the foldable bracket to support a book or other object. The clamp,which is adapted to engage the base of an ordinary desk telephone stand,is composed of a pair of relatively rigid jaws 12 and an adjustable jaw13. The jaws 12 and 13 are curved upwardly to embrace and engage thebase of the telephone stand, which is securely mounted on the foldabletelephone bracket, when engaged by the jaws of the clamp. The relativelyrigid jaws 12 are provided with integral shanks 14, arranged at an angleto each other, and provided at their connected inner ends with aperforation 15 for the reception of the bolt 10. The adjustable jaw isprovided with a shank having a slot 16, through which the bolt 10 passesand the shank is movable inwardly and outwardly to engage the clamp withand disengage it from a telephone, or other object, and to enable theclamp-to be applied to objects of different sizes. The upper end of thebolt 10 is provided with a head, and its lower end, which is threaded,receives nuts 17 and 18, by means of which the members of the clamp aresecurely retained in their relative adj ustment and in engagement with atelephone or other object. u

The sprocket chain is adapted to be coiled around the fastening device10 to fold it beneath the base of the telephone, whereby the latter andits supporting bracket may be compactly arranged at the end or otherportion of a desk. The chain is adapted to be stretched or adjusted alink at a time, whereby it is susceptible of arrangement in a largevariety of positions to enable the telephone, or other object supportedby it, to be placed in the desired position. The telephone bracket maybe swung from the top of a table or desk by means of a vertical pivot,which may be conveniently arranged in the form of a stand.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A foldable bracket for telephones, etc. comprising a flexiblesupporting member consisting of a sprocket chain composed of shortoverlapped horizontal links arranged in pairs and having their pivotsvertically disposed so that each link can swing independently in ahorizontal plane but is held against vertical movement, means forattaching one end of the chain to a support, and means carried by thefree end of the chain for holding an obect.

2. A foldable bracket for telephones, etc. comprising a flexiblesupporting member consisting of a sprocket chain composed of shortoverlapped horizontal links arranged in pairs and having their pivotsvertically disposed so that each link can swing independently in ahorizontal lane, means for attaching one end of the c lain to a support,and an adjustable clamp mounted on the free end of the sprocket chainand carried by the same and composed of jaws having relative horizontaladjustment.

3. A foldable bracket for telephones, etc. comprising a sprocket chaincomposed of links disposed in pairs and provided with verticallydisposed pivots so that each link can swing independently in ahorizontal plane, means for attaching one end of the sprocket chain to asupport, an adjustable clamp carried by the free end of the sprocketchain and consisting of relatively rigid jaws provided with connectingshanks arranged at an angle, and an adjustable jaw having a shank and afastening device piercing the said shank and also connecting the pairsof links at the outer end of the chain.

4. A foldable bracket for telephones, etc.

comprising a horizontally movable sprocket chain composed of linkshaving their pivots vertically disposed so that each link can swingindependently in a horizontal plane, means for attaching one end of thesprocket chain to a support, and an adjustable clamp composed ofrelatively rigid upwardly extending jaws provided with connected shanksarranged at an angle to each other, an upwardly extending adjustable jawprovided with a shank having a slot, and a fastening device extendinthrough theslot of the adjustable jaw am? through the connected ends ofthe shanks of the relatively rigid jaws and securing the same to andconnecting the pairs of links at the outer end of the sprocket chain.

5. A foldable bracket for telephones, etc. comprising an attachingbracket consisting of a plate having projecting lugs arranged invertical alinement, a horizontally movable sprocket chain composed ofhorizontal links arranged in pairs and having their pivots verticallydisposed so that each link can swing independently in a horizontalplane, the pair of links at the inner end of the chain being connectedto the said lugs, a vertical fastening device carried by and connectingthe pairs of links at the free end of the sprocket chain, and a clampsecured to the sprocket chain by the fastening device and com osed ofrelatively rigid jaws having integral s anks arranged at an angle toeach other, and an adjustable jaw provided with a shank having a slot toreceive the said fastening device.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. GERHARD.

Witnesses:

L. D. BROOKS, G. G. BISSELL.

